Soul Impact Wireless IEM Review

The Soul Impact Wireless is a Bluetooth 4.0 IEM marketed as a fashionable yet functional, sporting earphone with Liquipel technology to resist sweat.

I’ve owned them for about a month now, and I am rather happy with the Soul Impact Wireless. (Disclaimer: reviewer received the product as a gift from family). I weigh sound quality much higher than any other feature and I was completely satisfied in that regard. Though it has downsides, they were minor ones.

Soul Impact Wireless Sound profile

Sound: Right up front, it is very clear. It’s bassy, but the bass is clear. Its clarity is really where it excels. With bassy IEMs my fear has always been that they would be muddy, as if someone turned the reverb up or I was listening to music underwater. Not the case with the Soul Impact Wireless. The mids and highs are also clear but there really isn’t much to say about them. The unit is closed back though, so don’t expect much of a soundstage.

For reference, my main IEM is the standard edition Shure SE-215, which I prefer more. The extra bass of the Impact does get tiring over time but the overall sound quality does not feel like much of a compromise from the SE-215.

Another pair of Bluetooth in-ears I was interested in was the Philips TX2 BT, which comes in black/gold or white/gold. It’s in the same approximate price range as the Impact Wireless (~$100 USD) and is also known for its bass. The $40 non-Bluetooth version is in InnerFidelity’s Wall of Fame so you can see why I’d be interested.

The white and gold combination existed before Warframe but I was still tempted by the TX2BT in this colour. Just felt a bit Prime.

A few days after receiving the Impact I had the opportunity to sample the TX2BT. I found that the sound signature was muddier than the Impact , though possibly offering a bigger soundstage due to its open-back design. While I wouldn’t call the TX2BT bad, for the same price as the Impact just makes me happier.

Dual Driver issue

The Impact also claims to have 2 drivers. I believe that’s per side. I am a little skeptical about this since the claim is only found on the official website and not on the product packaging. I’m tempted to chalk it up as a mistake by the website writer, since if I were marketing a product I’d be advertising “2 DRIVERS” somewhere on the packaging. Size-wise, I can sort of see how that is possible. It’s wider and taller than the Soul Run Free Pro, but thinner (18W x 18H x 32D vs 21 x 26 x 24 mm). This extra width can probably accommodate another driver. No idea where the two batteries or electronics go in this virtual can of sardines.

The Impact Wireless is slightly wider and taller than the Run Free Pro. This may allow for a second driver. The Run Free Pro also has a feature which purportedly helps the device stay in ear.The Impact is much bigger than the SE-215, which contains mostly empty space. It’s conceivable that the Impact can hold 2 drivers a side.

In any case, Soul’s marketing division has really dropped the ball by not marketing the product’s sound quality more. I would have loved to see a frequency response graph on the packaging. Whether there are two drivers or not, the sound quality is still a defining feature of the product.

Soul Impact Wireless Problems:

The rubber cover for the charging port looks really, really, fragile.

Rubber cover peeled and rotated to expose charging port. Does not look durable.

In the review video, I mentioned that it skips a lot with my iPhone 5s. This has not been an issue when pairing with my laptop.

I also don’t like how there isn’t a magnet for snapping the two sides together when they’re not in use. Instead, it relies on a clip. Though to be fair, adding magnets would make the main casings much, much bigger.

I have not tried them for training. They do not stay in my ears when I start headbanging to something heavy. I am also not convinced they will stay in during intense training. Light jogging should be fine, but burpees? Probably not. Wait, let me try now. Okay, I was wrong, 30 burpees without falling off. Lasted longer than I did…

Conclusion: The Soul Impact Wireless is a good choice if you value audio quality more than any other feature in a sports Bluetooth IEM. Sound-wise, it boasts precise, thudding bass, with clear mids and highs. It has a closed-back design, which tends to increase sound isolation but reduce soundstage. Charging port is a bit fragile looking and despite saving graces from my lack of stamina, I am still not convinced that they will stay in my ear as well as some of its competitors. Overall though, the Soul Impact Wireless.